Father of the Bride
by Vivacious Winter
Summary: Sakura's daughter Mayu, wants nothing more than to be walked down the isle by her father. When it is revealed, however, that she has three possible fathers, will she be able to narrow down her search? And can Sakura face the three surprises from the past?


Bare feet padded quietly up the tall, winding staircase, their owner willing them not to find a fall-inducing crack, or a loose board that might emit an ear-splitting creak. When they gained purchase of the landing at the top of the stairs, Mayu let out a soft sigh of relief; she had made it. She walked quickly to the wall cage, and with deft fingers, picked open the lock. The door swung open silently, which naturally, was exactly what this early-riser needed.

"I wonder which of you are up for a long trip," Mayu inquired softly, looking amongst the hundreds of feathery creatures for the birds that looked the least ruffled. When, after a few moments of indecision, Mayu found the three healthiest carriers, she quickly tied a letter to each of the legs presented to her by the animal.

"Okay, all of you are going to Konoha," Mayu said. She lifted the first bird and took him to the window. "You, my feathered friend, should seek out Sasuke Uchiha." She lifted her arms and the bird took flight into the sky. She did not pause to watch this first messenger, but turned and picked up the second carrier and walked back to the window.

"Take this to someone called Naruto Uzumaki," she ordered, her mouth forming uneasily around the foreign name. When that bird had safely begun his flight, she picked up the last deliverer. "Your job is a little more difficult," she began. "He has no last name, but he is called Sai by the village." She stared off after the three carriers, feeling hopeful. When that final bird was lost in the sunrise, Mayu whispered her wish for the creatures holding the letters. "Make all haste."

"And for what reason do they need such speed?" came a new voice from behind Mayu_. Damnit! How did they catch me?_ She thought to herself. The girl's head fell as she turned to face the ninja who had caught her sending off this very important mail. Thinking of a myriad of excuses, Mayu brought her green eyes up to meet the gaze of the person who had just caught her only to meet jade eyes of her best friend, Lea.

"God! Lea! You scared me!" Mayu said, placing a hand over her fluttering heart for moment before rushing forward to hug her friend. Lea's pale, calm face brightened momentarily with a smile. She pushed a curtain of deep red hair back from her face to better analyze Mayu's expression.

"Why are you so jumpy?" Lea asked , her voice as sweet and monotone as ever. Her thin eyebrows rose a little in a curious expression. Mayu sighed; Now that the letters were mailed out, she could surely divulge her important secret to her best friend. In reality, Lea was not likely to rush right out and scream Mayu's guarded information to the world. It was not as if Lea had ever screamed in her life, in any case.

"Come with me. I have many things to tell you," Mayu requested, a smile in place from her last thought: The idea of Lea yelling in any form was similar to idea of Lea's father performing a tap dance for all of Suna. When Lea nodded at her friend's request, Mayu took off down the spiraling staircase. The two girls walked in silence through the entire mansion, stopping only to allow themselves to put on their shoes, then attempted to leave via the main entrance. Mayu raised a soft hand and pressed against the front door, but the ninja on guard at the door raised a hand before the couple could leave.

"Where are you two ladies heading?"

"Minoru, I am an adult. I understand my mother has charged you to keep tabs on me, but when I decide to take a walk, it is, alas, my decision," Mayu said icily, delivering a penetrating glare with the statement. She then walked out of the front doors without another word, mane of pink hair swinging behind her in a testament to her sassiness.

"Please alert my father that I am only but a stone's throw from the village borders," Lea said softly, without inflection, before following Mayu quietly. Mayu put her hands on her hips, a characteristic scowl darkening her face, set with emerald green eyes and framed by her pin-straight hair.

"Why do I bother telling him off, if you are just going to do the opposite?"

"I would not dream of talking to my father in the manner that you talk to your mother in," Lea said simply. "He worries because he does not want to lose me like he did my mother." She stopped for a moment to wave tranquilly at a shopkeeper opening shop before continuing. "Furthermore," she began. "Sakura worries about you because you are all that she has."

"She has the hospital, too," Mayu said in an attempt to assuage the guilt rising in her. Lea gave Mayu a clear look that nullified Mayu's attempt. "Okay, okay. Fine."

"Will you now tell me what you were doing this morning?" She said as they left the front gate to the village. Mayu sat down in dry shade that the high defense wall offered. Lea followed suit, leaning forward to exaggerate her desire for information. Mayu smiled secretively to herself.

"I'm getting married in a week," Mayu said aloud.

"Funny," Lea replied. "It seems that everyone knows this. Am I the last to find out?" She asked sarcastically. Mayu raised a hand to stop her friend in her tracks.

"I want my father to give me away." Silence followed her statement, and continued for a steady two minutes.

"Mayu, you don't know who your father is," Lea said in the best attempt as a gentle voice that she could muster. Mayu tipped her head back and laughed.

"No, you're right. Or at least I _didn't _know," she corrected, pulling from her pocket a stack of papers. On the top of the stack was a small black book with a pressed flower decorating the front of it. Mayu picked this object up first and flipped open to a page.

"'I think that I have decided that Sasuke's return to Konoha was the best thing that could have possibly happened to me. Today, he spoke for longer than he has since he came back. He told me about many things that in retrospect, I didn't want to hear. Afterwards, however, he admitted that neither Naruto nor I left his mind for a single moment while he was gone. Then, I leaned in and kissed him briefly and one thing lead to another…'" Mayu trailed off, refusing to read the rest of the entry.

"Oh! Mayu!" Lea exclaimed. A smile was building on her face, lighting up the typically stoic features beautifully. "You've found your dad!"

"The story's not done yet," Mayu said mysteriously and pulled the diary up in front of her face once more. "'Today, one of the worst and best things have happened in the same day. Sasuke approached me and told me that what happened… happened because he was caught up in the moment. He loves me as his best friend, but there isn't anything romantic. I was crying when Naruto found me. He took me out, talked me into a better mood, and reminded me that he had been there all along. I suppose it was then that I realized he had always, always loved me. It was about time it was repaid. It started with a kiss and…'"

"So, it's a fifty-fifty chance then?"

"There's one more," Mayu said to Lea's gasp. "'When Sasuke came up to me today, I was fully prepared to tell him that it wasn't a big deal and that I had moved on to, but he wasn't talking about us. He was talking about Naruto. Apparently, he had seen Naruto and Hinata kissing near Naruto's apartment. If I thought I cried last week when Sasuke… Anyway, it was nothing compared to now. I ended up heading out with Ino to take my mind off of things. Then we met up with Sai…'"

"Oh my, Mayu. So, you have three potential fathers? How are you going to pick which one comes to the wedding?"

"Well, this morning… you caught me sending out three invitations."

*x*

"You're the third one to come to me asking for time off," Kakashi said, looking down at the papers in front of him. "What could possibly be going on? You had better hope the Leaf is not attacked while you three are out."

"I'm going to visit Sakura," Naruto said. "Apparently, she has a daughter and the girl is getting married."

"Hasn't Sakura refused to make any attempt to see or talk to you for around two decades?" Kakashi asked critically, without looking up from the piece of paper he was signing. Naruto's brows drew together and he gave his former teacher a strangely stern look.

"People change, Sensei," he said, and took the paper that did two things: give him permission to be excused from missions, and give him permission to leave the village. Naruto, always a beacon of wishes and hopes, wished and hoped in that moment that what he said was true. He raised his hand in a lazy salute and left the Hokage's office.

As he made his way through the village, smiling and greeting people in return when they granted him the favor, Naruto thought about his predicament. For the first time in twenty years, Sakura had contacted him. He thought back on their last day together before she mysteriously packed up and took off for Suna, going through the trouble of denying all communication. Sasuke and Sai, for reasons unknown to him, had had similar troubles trying to get a hold of her.

"A daughter, hmm?" Naruto mused aloud. "Must mean she's married, or widowed or something," he continued, lacing his hands behind his head and glancing up at the morning sky. _It might be Gaara_, Naruto thought for a moment. Then he remembered that many years ago, he had received a wedding invitation from Gaara. Some woman named Matsuri. _Then I still don't know who she married. I wonder who he is_, Naruto thought to himself. All notions of Sakura's family life however, were erased as Naruto turned his gaze back to ground level to see Sai leaning against the front gate, chatting idly to the guards.

"Sai!" Naruto said, a grin stretching across his previously troubled face. Naruto's old comrade stood from where he was leaning and politely excused himself from conversation with the two gate ninja. He walked to Naruto and shook his hand, and small smile playing on his lips.

"Greetings, Naruto."

"What brings you out of your hole?" Naruto joked, raising inquisitive eyebrows at his friend. Sai chuckled softly and shrugged, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket.

"I have an invitation to Suna for Sakura's daughter's wedding to this Suna ninja," Sai said, squinting at the piece of paper. "Daichi," he corrected himself. "The kid's name is Daichi."

"That's funny," Naruto said, glaring off in the direction of the sun, where he had seen another person walking toward where they were chatting. "I got the same invitation."

"Oh, yes. I am sure you did. After all, how could Sakura invite Sasuke and me without extending the same to you? In any case, that is who I am waiting for. Better to travel in pairs," Sai recited.

"Sasuke got an invite, too?" Naruto asked, as the person in question finally became visible. The man standing before him, with the familiar spiky hair-cut took one look at the small gathering of travelers and gave an impassive "Hn." Naruto rolled his eyes. Leave it to Sasuke to greet his dearest friends like they were strangers.

"Well, I suppose we should leave now, the wedding is in two days, and it will take a fair amount of foot travel to arrive in Suna on time," Sai said, oblivious to the irritation rolling off of Naruto.

"I am surprised that Sakura did not give us more notice," Sasuke said quietly. "She has made the trip several times herself and was always complaining about short-notice missions in Suna."

"Yes, well, I'm about to start complaining about not leaving already," Naruto grumbled. With that, the three men turned and walked quietly out of the village. One was thinking of travelling paths, and how quickly he could make it to Suna. Another of the three pondered Sakura's odd behavior, in the strange invites and short notice. The final man wondered if it would be an appropriate time to eat when they finally arrived in Suna.


End file.
